Men's Soccer Hosts Rio Grande on Thursday in Lone Home Exhibition

CINCINNATI – Xavier men's soccer opens its preseason schedule with a home match against Rio Grande on Thursday night at Xavier Soccer Complex. First touch is slated for 6 p.m.

It will be the lone home exhibition match for XU. The Musketeers' next friendly will come on Saturday, Aug. 21 against Maryland, beginning at 7 p.m.

ABOUT RIO GRANDE

2015 Record: 23-1, 6-0 KIAC
Postseason: 2015 NAIA National Champions

• Rio Grande is an NAIA school located near the West Virginia-Ohio border in Rio Grande, Ohio.
• The Red Storm have won their last 12 matches, had three players receive all-american honors and were ranked No. 1 in the final 2016 NAIA coaches poll.
• Head coach Scott Morrissey, who has spent 27 years at Rio Grande, was named the 2015 NAIA Men's Soccer National Coach of the Year. The 2015 national title was his second, as Morrissey also led the Red Storm to a title in 2003.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST

· Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last six seasons and is poised for another strong run in 2016.
· The Musketeers finished 2015 at 12-6-1 overall, marking a sixth straight season with at least 10 wins – one of just 12 programs that can claim the feat.
· Last fall also marked Xavier's third straight finish in the top-four of the BIG EAST.
· XU was ranked in the nation's top-10 by the NSCAA for the third time in four years, while knocking of the national No. 1 (Creighton) and No. 2 (Notre Dame) on the road last season. The Musketeers are widely believed to be the first program to ever knock off both a No. 1 and a No. 2 on the road in the same season.

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